Thinking about Elliott Smith can sometimes legitimately make me sad. He wrote some of the most amazing and at times heartbreaking music of my teens and young twenties. Either/Or has what might be my favorite Elliott song, Say Yes, and this album was my introduction to him. He’s one of those “tortured artists” that I feel bad for.

Well, it’s been 20 years now and it’s time for the expanded deluxe reissue. Kill Rock Stars, shout out to Olympia!, have done the fans justice on this one by including 3 unreleased studio recordings and a B side.

And, it includes 5 live multitrack recordings from the Yoyo a Go Go Festival in Olympia, WA in 1997. There sadly hasn’t been a Yoyo a Go Go Festival in these parts in a good while, but they are the stuff of legend. There were years where it was a multi-day around the clock festival. Just a string of indie bands coming through. 1997 the year these recordings come from also included performances by Sleater-Kinney, Modest Mouse, Built to Spill, Mirah, and the Murder City Devils.

I’ve spent a lot of time in various cities that Elliott Smith had also called home. I’ll definitely be picking this one up.

The Details

Pre-Order Notes + Order Instructions

This item is scheduled to ship mid/late March 2017 (subject to change)
If you want to order additional items with a pre-order item, please make separate orders (1 order with pre-order item, 1 order with everything else)
If there is a delay, we will contact you directly
all pre-orders come with Turntable Lab stickers
20TH ANNIVERSARY PRESSING OF ELLIOTT SMITH'S LANDMARK EITHER/OR! Widely regarded as the singer-songwriter's best album, Either/Or continues to be his most popular as well. To celebrate the album's 20th anniversary Kill Rock Stars has remastered the album from the original tapes and included additional recordings from around the time of the album's release. 1997 marked a turning point in Smith's career, his music was featured prominently in Gus Van Sant's Good Will Hunting soundtrack, which led to the singer suddenly becoming the Oscar-nominated center of attention. His performance at the Oscars was characteristically nervous but brilliant. It seemed to be a surprising turn of events for both Smith and his fans. 1997 was also the year that Either/Or was released. The album, with the introduction of instruments aside from the singer-songwriter's guitar and voice, serves as a bridge between the lo-fi darkness of Roman Candle and Elliott Smith and the studio sheen of XO and Figure 8. His lyrics are as bleak and dark as ever, but the songs have a certain pop sensibility to them. Either/Or captures Smith's ability to play with that contrast beautifully. The constant push and pull between the dissonant and melodic, dealing with today's disappointment and loneliness knowing that things could change tomorrow. It's no secret that Smith dealt with alcoholism and addiction, but through his music you can see that he was able to experience love as well. Released by Kill Rock Stars on limited edition yellow double vinyl housed in a gatefold sleeve with additional live recordings and bonus tracks, insert of the original liner notes, a postcard of the original master tapes, and several never before seen photos.

limited to 4000 copies
yellow double vinyl pressing
five live multitrack recordings from the Yo Yo A Go Go Festival in Olympia WA in 1997
three previously unreleased studio recordings and one b-side gem
gatefold sleeve
insert of the original liner notes
postcard of the original master tapes
never before seen photos
Music Label: Kill Rock Stars 2016

I spend a lot of time thinking about music. I spend a lot of time listening to music. I go to shows in my sparse free time.
I have booked shows, written reviews and I am currently a DJ Assistant at KEXP. Also, I am an all around music and vinyl nerd. My Discogs want list is quite lengthy: https://www.discogs.com/user/JHamilton